What was your first job?

[greenfreak]

What was your first job? How old were you? Did you like it? Did you stay for a while?

I can't remember if my first job was working at a department store (called TSS-I always think of it when you mention thescreensaver.com) or being a waitress.

In TSS, I worked in the lingerie/hosiery/accessories folding clothes, putting them back on hangers, making sure people didn't steal clothes while in the fitting room... I worked there for a few months. I was pretty good at that job.

Waitressing I really sucked at. I was beyond terrible. My base salary was two dollars and change and since I depended on tips, I didn't make much money. I didn't do that for long!

 

[PT]

The first thing I got paid for doing was farm work, cleaning pig pens, feeding cattle, walking beans, detassling corn. First job I had to pay taxes on was working in a restaurant. I started there as a cook, then later became a waiter. Figured out real quick the waiters made a helluva lot more money and didn't go home greasy every night.

 

[unclehobart]

First paying job was bussing tables and scrubbing dishes at a Fudruckers restaurant @15 for like 4.25/hr... might have been 4.

 

[greenfreak]

Can I expand this? What were all your jobs of note? I think it would be interesting to know the different things people have done in their lives....


I think I would really have enjoyed working on a farm, PT. Did you like it or was it more of a chore to you?

 

[PT]

I really like most of it except for cleaning out the pig pens. Imagine wading in pig shit up to your waist. We used wading pants that you see fishermen wearing, but the smell was pretty bad.

Ok, a quick rundown.

1983 - 1985 Farm work (see above)
1985 - 1988 Restaurant (see above)
1988 - 1990 Asst. Manager of a Steak n Shake
1990 - 1991 Manager of a Self Storage Facility (BORING, but paid well.)
1991 - 1992 Collections Manager for Rent to Own store. (DON'T ever do this.)
1992 - 1995 Sold furniture for a High End Furniture store (Thomasville, Kincaid, Barcalounger)
1995 - 2000 Started laying floor coverings, eventually became self employed in 1997
2001 - Took the year off.
2002 - 2003 Work in a computer room for Dept of Labor, Missouri.


That's pretty well it, as you can see, it's been a variety, but I've enjoyed most of them except the rent-to-own, I always felt like I was stealing from people there.

 

[HomeLAN]

Lessee, here...

At 14, I worked in a kitchen at a mall reataurant during the Christmas season. Left after Christmas, it sucked so bad that I decided to find any alternative to fast food at that point.

At 15, I got a job at a grocery store as a cashier. Worked there through high school. Moved into frozen foods dept. after 2 years. Not bad.

At 18, moved to a different grocery store - frozen foods. lasted 2 motnhs. shitty boss.

Moved to a sporting goods store, manning gun counter. Great job, shitty boss. Lasted 6 months.

Moved to a company which did summer picnics for other companies. Worked there 9.5 years, as a truck loader, logistics coordinator, event manager, A/P clerk, and finally assistant controller. Good job, good folks, just topped out. Nowhere upwards to go. Left.

Came to this job 5 years back. Promoted to full Controller 1 year ago. Fairly happy. I've topped out again, but it's at a point where I expect it.

 

[Nixy]

Ummmm

July 2000-Aug 2000 - Worked in a factory operating a machine and doing odds and ends work (Velcro Canada)
Sept 2000-June 2001 - Cashier/burger dresser and Mega Burgers (little burger joint near my house)
June 2001-Aug 2001 - Same as July 2000-Aug 2000
Nov 2001-Jan 2002 - Sales associate at Old Navy
June 2002-Aug 2002 - Data entry and verification at Velcro Canada

 

[Q]

First job was at a full serve gas station. There were no self serve ones then. Minumum wage was $1.86/hr. Worked there on and off for 3 years. Made it up to $2.50/hr
Part time xmas help at Spiegel, taking phone orders.
After high school I worked at about 2 million restaurants in 20 years.
15 years ago I started working with my roommate doing tile & marble. Did that during the day, went to a restaurant at night, till I learned enough to be able to make a living doing tile myself ( on and off for 7 years)
Worked for a marble & granite company for 7 years.
Self employed since last Oct.

 

[unclehobart]

hmm.. I'm sure I'll miss a few:
84-85:Fudruckers
85(6 months) Delights fast food (vowed to die before I worked in low end food again)
late85-mid 86 Kroger groceries
86-88 KMart Garden shop assistant manager
88-90 bounced around several low end fluff jobs trying to balance around school and whatnot. Everything from 3rd shift quickie mart to landscaping to car washes .. all horror stories.
90-2000 Worked at the same company as HomeLAN that did the summer picnics as a warehouse sluggery all the way up through various depatments and managerial positions. I had tons of responsibility and wide lattitude authority for the most part. Got sick of the politics and sneaky dealing and left... and I was getting worked to death for less than what I should have been paid.

 

[greenfreak]

Fergot to continue with my own...

Theatre lighting/stage manager for a small theatre
Cashier at Toys R Us only for about two months
Cashier again at CVS for about a year
Did some office work at my Uncle's security company for a few years while I was going to college
Insurance broker/Office manager for 4 years
Paramedic at Long Beach Hospital/for private ambulance companies for 3 years
Props mistress/roadie for theatre company

Then I moved to Florida...

Horrible terrible telemarketing job to hold me till I found a better one
Office manager for a gourmet Coffee company in Florida (my boss was very abusive; it was the only job I left without giving notice)
Customer service/billing/shipping/marketing for a carpet distributor that couldn't decide what dept they wanted me to work in

Moved back to NY after 9 months...

Insurance broker again till I got on my feet
Sales Administrator/Supervisor for 4 years for Military Car Sales
Accounting Manager at tiny vitamin company-another abusive boss, only lasted 6 months before I told her off and left
Accounts Receivable at a heart rate monitor company while I went to computer school
PC Repair at the company I work for now

 

[AlladinSane]

My first job was as a clerk in my father/uncle's construction shop(right name? they sell constructing/building materials) for 4 years (14 to 18 y/o). Later I worked 4 years as a programmer and 5 as tech support.

 

[freako104]

i worked at a tech trek when i was 15. it was allright though i was nervous all the time and spent all my paychecks on movies, cds and video games.

 

[nalani]

from ages 11 - 13, I worked on the 10-acre lot I'm living on now ... we were clearing the lot and planting and maintaining guava trees ... that was hella back-breaking work. Didn't pay much either, but at least we got paid

at 15 I started working as the Groundskeeper Assistant at the Mauna Lani Resort. Like all my other brothers and sisters, we got in because our dad was the first employee of the Resort - two of my siblings still work there

at 16 - 18 I transferred to the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel working in the Children's and Teens programs .. that was so much fun, it was hardly like work at all. We got to take care of kids (lots of celebrity kids and children of celebs) and hang out with the teen guests too ... I was 16 years old making $9/hour. During the vacations, I worked full time .. the rest of the time was 20 hours a week ...

at 19 I was a reservation's taker for the condominiums at Mauna Lani. At 21 I transferred to the check-in office on site. At 23, I was managing the condos under contract with the company.

at 25 I became a Medical Office receptionist ... I received training as a nurse's assistant, medical office transcription, and insurance billing ...

at 29 I started teaching Hawaiian cultural protocol at a public high school ... at 30, the added job of "basic computer applications" was given to me ...

and now ... I'm .. umm... a Technology Programs Specialist .... which doesn't really mean anything ... my job is actually "doing anything The Family says"

 

[HeXp£Øi±]

Well i was a paperboy at the age of 12 but i wouldn't consider that a real job. My first real job was washing busses for greyline at the age of 14/15
Then moved on to working in canneries-construction-comp tech-commercial fishing.
Now i do nothing and go to school sometimes.

 

[Mirlyn]

I worked on my grandparents' farm in IA for a summer and then in a warehouse at a hospital for the following three summers.
When I graduated HS, I worked at a BSA summer camp (QSR) as the Assistant Tech Director.
Came back to college and went to work at Best Buy as a Service Tech till the next summer. Spent the next summer back at Q. Went back to school, started working on campus doing network and hardware support. Spent the summer, again, at Q. After that, I went back to school and started working again at WSU, and last November added Best Buy. My friend and I do business network and computer consulting on the side as well. So right now, I'm working for WSU, Best Buy, being subcontracted out by my friend, and doing full time college. Makes for some long days.

In June I will, for my fourth summer, go back to QSR. This time as Director.

 

[kuulani]

I've worked in something related to Hawaiian Studies Education since I was 18: teach @ high schools, substitute teach @ elementary schools, write curriculum, lecture @ colleges, etc ...

 

[Luis G]

Building, configuring, installing, networking puters, etc.....at 15.

 

[Squiggy]

I'm too sore to type mine right now...but I'll catch up soon.

 

[Jeslek]

I didn't work until I was 18 and in Canada. Why? I moved around too much and certain countries required work visas even for something as trivial as unskilled labor. I got an allowance from my parents though, and they had me do work for them.

Right now I'm still with my first job. I'm a senior programmer and project manager.

 

[ris]

did a bit of fruit picking when i was 16 for a few quid. got wicked sunburned and it payed for my nice little stereo.

then i did some data entry when i was 18 before going to uni.

during my uni summers i worked one year for maccy-d's and the other for a little archi firm as a draughting and surveying monkey.

my year out was in a small practice in s wales, mainly invovling listed buildings and racist tension.

after that i temped in some crappy jobs beofre college started again, damn they sucked, like washing down floors in a alu factory.

worked for the uni for a couple of years until last july when i started looking for stuff permanently. did 3 months with a local council and 2 weeks with a huge commercial outfit while i looked and eventually picked up my current job - worth the wait as they are a superb company.